Flying machine



Patented Sept. .28, 1926.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. nAnoLn navnnv, or SAN Luis OBISIPO, CALIFORNIA.

FLYING MACHINE.

Application filed April 21, 1925. Serial No. 24,792;

This invention relates to improvements in the control systems for aeroplanes, and particularly to a control system intended to give easier and more complete control of the machine whatever its state of -1'notion whether flying at high speed, flyin at low speed, or moving along the groun Itv is desirable in flying at different speeds, to have a control system the sensitiveness of which can be. regulated-to correspond with the speed of flying. Under high speed fiy ing conditions, it is desirable to reduce the trol surfaces.

The general object of this invention is to provide an aeroplane equipped with improved controlling means, more complete and of a greater range of sensitiveness' than heretofore provided, in order thatall the conditions of, control outlined as desirable 'in the preceding paragraph may be at-- tained, l

Further objects of the inVIltlOlrWlll appear hereinafter.

- The invention consists in the novel parts and combination of parts to be described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce an efficient flying machine.

A preferred embodiment of the invention I is described in the following specification,

while ,the broad scope of. the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a dia ram of the control'systern in per'ppective, s owing its relation to the aileron and elevator and also indicating the brakes which are associated with the land- "actuated controlling member which may be 'moved by the aviator at will to vary the ing wheels. I

Fig. 2 is a' perspective upon an enlarged scale, also diagrammatically illustrating details of. the control system in the vicinity of the control sticks.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken through plane shown in Fig. 11.

the rear control stick in a vertical front and rear plane. I

Fig. i 1s a vertical transverse section through the control apparatus and passing through the longitudinal axis of rotation of the control sticks and particularly illustrating details of the controlling means which I prefer to employ for controlling the aileron.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal cross section taken about on the line 5-5 of-Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of an aeroplane I embodying my invention and particularly illustrating the construction of the landing wheels. I

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the aeroplane shown in Fig. 6. r

Fig. 8 is a'lon itudinal section through the fuselage of the aeroplane taken in --a front and rear direction, broken away, and shown partly in elevation. Fig. 9 is a vertical section taken through one of the brake drums and illustrating details ofthe brakes.

Fig. 10 is a plan ofv the aeroplane with the upper wing and the top of'the fuselage removed, and with the planes or wings broken away ateach side of the fuselage; portions of the elevator are, also broken away.

Fig; 11 is a front elevation illustrating a Wheel mounting construction in which the wheels extend above the plane of the lower win and 'Flg. 12 is an end elevation of the aero-' According .to my invention, I utilize the system of movable'vanes, known asaileron and elevators, customarily used in aeroplane construction, for the control of all vertical movements and rotations or orientations of vanes, and in "addition I provide a hairl leverage of the forces exerted by the control stick.

My control system is very clearly illustrated in Fig. 1. In the drawings, the in'-' to rotate on an axis transverse to the fuselage. In the present .instance, ll provide a sleeve 4 which extends longitudinally with the fuselage,.and each control stick is provided at its lower end with a yoke, the forks of which are pivotally attached to the sleeve by a transverse pivot pin or bolt 5.

I provide a connection from the controlstick to the aileron constructed so that the point of connection can be gradually and continuously moved at will to \vary the leverage of the stick.

F or this purpose, associated with the-control sticks I provide an actuator which is uided so ,that it may be moved toward or rom the longitudinal axis of rotation, and

- this actuating means is connected with the nut 8 project.

vane of the flying machine which is to be controlled; for example, it is connected to the elevator 6 and the aileron'z7 In order to accomplish this in a dual control system, the actuating means includes twoactuators 8, one of which corresponds to each control stick. In Fig. 3, ll illustrate the second control stick 2.

Each actuator 8 is in the form of a nut mounted on an adjusting screw 9 which extends longitudinally of the stick. Thestick 2 is provided with a slot 10 on its front side and a similar slot-10 on its rear side, and into theseslots the ends of the actuator 01' in the case of the forward control stick, there need be only one slot which is on the rear side. These two actuator nuts 8 are connected by a bar 11 which extends longitudinally over the sleeve a. The actuator nut 8 on the rear control stick 2 is connected by a suitable controlling means with the elevator 6. For this pur pose I provide a link 12 which extends back a and attaches to an arm 13 on a rock shaft downwardly. With this construction, it,

willbe evident that by rocking the control lever forwardly or rearwardly, the elevator will be raised or lowered on its hinge joint 1.8. Y

A hand actuated member and means ac- In ad dition to this, each control stick is mounted projecting down from each aileron.

neonate-7 tuated thereby are provided for rotating the adjusting screws 9 so as to'. raise or lower the actuator nuts 8 in. unisona This handactuated member is preferably independent of the control-stick. For this purpose, I may provide" a hand lever 19 near each aviators position, each of these hand levers being pivoted on the frame of the machine and carrying a vertical disc 20 that rotates when the lever is swung. An endless cord 21 passes around these two discs and is guided on .pulleys 21*, its ends being attached to-a rack bar; 22 which is mounted to slide longitudinally in the sleeve-4. This rack bar engages a pinion 23 attached to the lower end of each adjusting screw (see Fig. 3) so that when the rack is moved longitudinally the adjusting screws will be rotated. l; j

I provide means for connecting the bar 11 with the aileronso that when the bar moves further in or further out with respect to the longitudinal axis of rotation, the leverage of the force exerted through the agency of the bar will be varied. In other words, if the bar 1.1 has been raised considerably, it will operate to produce an in-' creased amount of movement in the elevator and in the aileron for a given movement of thejlever. in order to avoid the necessity for providing a very heavy, rigid construction for the bar'll, I provide an actuator block 24 (see Fig. 2) through which the bar 11 slides freely, and this block is guided so that it can slide in or out with respect'to the axis of the sleeve 4} For this purpose, the sleeve is provided with a rigid arm 25 having 'a' slot 26 inwhich the block fits and'slides freely.

- 'The sleeve 4 itself is mounted in a suitable bearing 4 forrotation on its longitudinal axis. I provide means connected with the actuator block 2%, connected with the aileron 7 for controlling them. This means may be a wire or cord 27 extending from .the block in either'direction and guided on suitable guide pulleys 28, 29, the rear end of each cordbeing attached to a post 30 The ailerons are connected togetherby a cross wire orcord 31 guided around suitable pulleys 32, andthe ends of'this wire are connected to upwardly projecting arms 33.

- it will be evident that when the control stic'ks'are moved to the right or to the, left, the cords or wires 27 will be operative so as to swing the ailerons up or down on their hinge joints 34..

At the elevator I provide a vertical rudder 35 connected to the fuselage by a vertical hinge joint 36. This rudder may be swung on its joint through the agency of the 'dual foot levers 37'. These dual levers 37 are connected by tie-wires 38, and the rearmost dual lever is connected by cords or wires 39, at each side to a post or arm 40 projecting horizontally and laterally from the rudder.

- In order to facilitate the landing of the tion,or soft orloose earth, in the path ofv the wheels, I'provid'ethe aeroplane with two landing wheels 41 of relatively'large diameter, and these wheels are rotatably supported on axles 42 (see Fig. 6) at the outer extremities of the wing. The landing wheels 41 may be constructed of any diameter desired, but whereas it has been customary heretofore to place the landing wheels under the lower wing or fuselage,

and. necessarily therefore of less diameter than the clearance of the wing or fuselage from the ground, I provide landing wheels of greater diameter than such clearance by placing them beyond the ends of the lower wing. Axles 42 may be mounted in any suitable manner on the general framework of the aeroplane. My preferred embodimentof such mounting is shown in Figures 11 and 12, in which the axle is fastened to the under side of lower wing 4 3 at the two outer front'panel points. An alternatemanner of mounting, so coming within the general. scope of this invention, is shown in Figures 6 and 7, in which the axles are mounted between the upper plane 43 and the lower plane 43 This latter method of mounting allows of somewhat larger wheels than the former, giving somewhat greater range of Fig. 9) rigid with the wheel.

safety in lighting and running along the ground. It also ives somewhat greater elasticity for the ahsorption of impact, but involves greater weight and offers greater wind resistance than the former.

The machine is constructed with the usual posts or struts 44 connecting the upper and lower wings, and the whole structure is braced by the usual diagonal tie-braces or guy-wires 45. The axles 42 are held in position by suitable braces 46. Within the fuselage, 3 seats 47 areprovided for the aviators, and these seats are located just rearwardly of the corresponding control sticks. v

For stopping and steering the machine. in taxi-ing along the ground, I provide a brake 48 corresponding to each wheel. This construction includes a brake drum 49 (see Adjacent to the brake drum I provide a brake band 50 which is supported at 51' on an arm 52 rojecting from the axle. I also provi e a brake lever 53 one end of which is pivotally attached at 54 to one end of the brake band,

I and it is also attached near this pointby means of a link 55 to the other end of the brake band, the oonstructionbeing such. that when the lever. is pulled toward the left, as

should be understood that the dual levers 37 are mounted to swing on substantial pivots at their middle points. This, of course, only permits of one brake being applied at a time, but this is desirable because applying both brakes at once while the machine was moving along the ground at any considerable speed would tend to upset the machine onto its nose. I By applying one brake at a time, the machine can be directed toward one side or turned sharply about without aid from persons on the ground and without danger of upsetting, and in this way considerable braking force may be applied and a landin effected on a comparatively small tract 0 ground.

The mode of operation of the flying machine will be lbriefly stated:

By swinging either of the control sticks on its transverse pivot 5, the elevator 6 may be swung up or down. By swinging either control stick to the right or to the left, that is to say, by producinga rotation on the longitudinal axis of the sleeve 4, the cords 27 will control the aileron 7. When the aviator desires to increase the leverage throughwhich the controlling force is applied at the control stick, he moves the lever 19 in the proper direction to rotate the adjusting nuts will produce the same character of adjustment in the control of the aileron. In this way, by a slightmovement of the'lever 19,'the rack 22 may be moved any desired amount to effect the desired adjustment of the sensitiveness of the flying machine; and to reduce to a minimum the exertion of strength on the part of the aviator in controlling the machine.

In flying with an aeroplane embodying my improvements, it is possible to alight at a somewhat lower speed than would otherwise be possible, because the control can be adjusted to give anincreased controlling effect, and because the increase of leverage of controls at. high speeds permits of using control surfaces of larger area than would otherwise be practicable, thereby enabling the machine to be controlled though flying at low speed.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention described herein is onlyone v 2. In a flying machine, the combination of a frame, an elevator, a 'iiontrol-stick, means connecting the control-stick with the elevator for operating the same, and a hand-actuated controllin member pivotally attached to the frame, with means actuated thereby for varying at will the leverage of the force exerted.

by the control-stick.

3; In a flying machine, the combination of a frame, ailerons, a control-stick, a continuously variable connection connecting the control-stick with the ailerons to operate the same, a movable hand-operated member within reach of the aviator when in' his upright position, and means including an adjusting screw controlled by the hand-operated-m'ember for gradually and continuously varying at will the point, of connection between the control-stick and the ailerons to alter the leverage of the control-stick;

4. In a flying machine,- the combination of a frame, a control-stick, an elevator with elevator control means having a variable connection with the control-stick, ailerons with aileron-control means. connecting the same to the control-stick, a hand-operated member within reachpf the aviators hand in his upright position, and means actuated by the hand-operated member including an adjust? ing screw for actuating the variable connection and continuously varyingat will the leverage exerted by the control-stick through both of saidcontrol means.

5. In a flying machine, the combination of ailerons, a control-stick, means for supporting the-control-stick to rotate about an axis, means actuated by the control-stick and con nected with the ailerons to operate the same, and a hand-actuated member mounted to move independently of the control-stick, with means controlledrthereby for gradually vary ing ht will the distance of said last named means from the axis of rotation to vary the leverage of the force exerted by the control stick. 'f v 6. In a flying machine, the combination of an elevator, a control-stick, means for supporting the control-stick to rotate about an axis, means actuated by the control-stick and connected with the elevator to operate the same, and a hand-actuated member mounted to move independently of the control-stick, with means controlled thereby for gradually varying at will the distance of said last named means from the axis of rotation to vary the leverage of the force exerted by the control stick. e

7. In va flying machine, the combination of ailerons, an elevator, a control-stick, means for supporting the control-stick to rotate about an axis, a member mountedto rotate about said axis with the control-stick, 'a. handactuated; member independent of the control-stick with means connecting the same to said last named member for varying the distance of the same from the axis-of rotation to'regulate the leverage of the force exerted by the control-stick,cand means connecting said first named member with the ailerons and the elevator.

8. Ina flying machine having ailerons and an elevator, the combination of a coir trol-stick, means for supporting the controlstick to rotate about an axis, a member mounted to rotate about the said axis with the control-stick and having adjusting means operating to move the same gradually and continuously toward or from the said axis to regulate the distance of said first named member from said axis, and having means connecting said first named member with the ailerons and the elevator.

9. In a flying machinehaving ailerons and anelevator, the combination ofa controlstick, means for supporting the control-stick torotate about a longitudinal axis extending longitudinally with the fuselage of the machine, and "for rotation about a transverse axis extending transversely of the fuselage, an actuator, means mounted 'to rotate on the said longitudinal axis with the controlstick and constituting guiding means for guiding the actuator in a substantially radial direction to or from the saidlongitudinai axis, a hand-actuated member for adjusting the actuator toward or from the longitudinal axis, and means for connecting the actuator with the ailerons and the elevator,

10. In a flying machine having ailerons and an elevator, the combination of a sleeve mounted to rotate on a longitudinal axis extending longitudinally with the fuselage, an actuator, an arm carried by the sleeve with means for guiding the actuator to move toward or from the said longitudinal axis, a control-stick pivotally mounted on'a transverse axis on the sleeve, ahand actuated member movable at will and means-operated thereby to move the actuator toward or from the longitudinal axis, and means for connecting the actuator to the ailerons and theelevator.

11.. In a flying machine having ailerons and an elevator, the combination ofa sleeve, means for supporting the same to rotate on a longitudinal axis extending longitudinally with the fuselage, an arm rigid with the and means connecting the saidbar withthe sleeve, an actuator guided on the arm, a control-stick pivotally .mounted on the sleeve on a transverse axis, a hand-actuated member movable at will and having means actuated thereby for adjusting the actuator-on the arm toward or from the longitudinal ax1s,'and means connecting the actuator with the ailerons and the elevator.

12. In a flying machine having ailerons and an elevator, the combination of a sleeve mounted to rotate on a longitudinal axis extending longitudinally with the fuselage, an arm rigid with the sleeve, an actuator in the form of a block mounted. to slide on the arm toward and from the longitudinal axis, a hand actuated member movable at will, means controlled thereby for effecting the adjustment of the actuator block on its arm to or. from the said longitudinal axis, a control stick pivotally mounted on the sleeve on a transverse axis and connected with the block, and means for connecting the block with the ailerons and'the elevator.

13. In a flying machine having ailerons and an elevator, the combination of a pairof control-sticks, means for supporting the same to rotate on a longitudinal axis extending longitudinally with the fuselage,

and on transverse axes, a movable actuator carried by each control-stick, a hand-actuated member movable at Wlll, means actuated thereby-for both moving the said actutudinal axis, means for connecting the actuators with the elevator, another actuator guided to move to or from the said longitudinal axis with the first named actuators, and means for connecting the last named actuator with the ailerons.

15. In a flying machine having ailerons,

the combination of a pair of control-sticks,

means for supporting the same to rotate on a longitudinal axis extending longitudinally with the fuselage and on transverse axes respectively, a movable actuator carried by each control stick, a bar connectin a hand-actuated member --movabIe at will,

- means actuated thereby for moving the said actuators along the control sticks toward or from the said longitudinal axis, means for connecting the actuators with the elevator,

the same,

ailerons.

.16, In aflying machine having ailerons, the combination of a sleeve mounted to retate on a lon itudinal axis extending longitudinally wit 1 the fuselage, an arm carried by the sleeve, a pair-of controlrsticks each attached to the sleeve on a transverse axis and ca able of rotating the sleeve on its longitu inal axis, an actuator guided on each stick to move to or from the said longitudinal axis, a hand-actuated member movfrom the said longitudinal axis when the first named actuators are moved toward or from the said longitudinal axis, means connecting the'first named actuators with the elevator, and means for connecting the actuator block with the ailerons. 1

17. In a flying machine, the combination of a control'stick mounted to rotate on a longitudinal axis extending longitudinally with the fuselage, an adjusting screw associated with the control stick and extending substantially, radially from the said axis of rotation, an actuator'mounted as a nut on said screw, a hand-actuated member mov able at will, with means actuated thereby for rotating thesaid adjusting screw 'to move the actuator in or out with respect to the said axis, a movable vane carried by the machine, and means connecting the actuator with the movable vane to control the same.

18. In a flying machine having an elevator, the combination of a pair of control sticks mounted to rotate on a longitudinal axis extending longitudinally with the fuselage, an adjusting screw associated with each control stick, an actuator associated -with each control-stick and operating as a nuton its corresponding adjusting screw,

a hand-actuated member movable at will,

means actuated thereby for rotating. said adjusting screws to move the actuators in or out with respect to the said axis, and means for connecting the actuators with the elevator. v e

19. In a flying machine having ailerons, the combination of'a rotatable sleeve mounted to rotate on an axis extending longitudinally with the fuselage, a control-stick pivotally attached to the sleeve on a transverse axis, an arm carried by the sleeve, an actuator block guided to slide on said arm, an adjusting screw associated with the control stick, an actuator guided in the control-stick and operating as a nut on the adjusting screw, means connecting the actuator nut and the actuator block and operating to means for-controlling the motion of said 10 move the block in or out when the actuator vane, and a controlling member movably nut moves in or out, means connecting the mounted on the frame for varying at-Will actuator nut With the elevator, and means the leverage of the force exerted by the said' 5 for connecting the actuator'block with the controlling means. 4 v

' ailerons. Signed at San Luis Obispo, Cal thisAth 1 20. In a flying machine, the combination (la-y of'April, 1925. of a'fralne' a movable vane engaged by the air as the machine advances, controlling HAROLD T.' AVERY. 

